| 1993 New South Wales Rugby League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 16 |
| Premiers |  Brisbane (2nd title) |
| Minor premiers |  Canterbury (5th title) |
| Matches played | 182 |
| Points scored | 6,173 |
| Average attendance | 14,426 |
| Total attendance | 2,625,467 |
| Top points scorer |  Daryl Halligan (180) |
| Wooden spoon | Gold Coast Seagulls (3rd spoon) |
| Rothmans Medal |  Ricky Stuart |
| Top try-scorer | Noa Nadruku (22) |
The1993 NSWRL season (known as the1993Winfield Cup Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the eighty-sixth season of professionalrugby league football in Australia. TheNew South Wales Rugby League's sixteen teams competed for theJ. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a replay of the previous year'sgrand final for the Winfield Cup trophy between theBrisbane Broncos andSt. George Dragons. As Sydney celebrated winning the2000 Olympic Games, Brisbane spoiled the party by retaining the NSWRL premiership.[1]
This season the 10-metre rule was introduced, which required the defensive team to retreat 10 metres from where the ball is being played, allowing more room for attacking players.[2]
In February, theEastern Suburbs Roosters won theRugby League World Sevens tournament, while in March theCanberra Raiders won theChallenge Cup final 20–18 against theWestern Suburbs Magpies inDubbo.[3]
Reigning premiersBrisbane Broncos moved from their original home groundLang Park toQE II Stadium south of the city. The move brought increased attendance figures, with the club attracting 51,517 fans to their first match at the venue in round 3 against theParramatta Eels. The league broke an 85-year-old attendance record when 129,018 fans attended matches during round 4.[3]
1992 runners-upSt. George won their first six matches of the season to be the last undefeated team. Their streak broken by the Broncos atKogarah Oval in round 7 with the visitors taking a tight 20–14 victory. By the middle of the season St. George and theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs would vie for the top rungs on the ladder, with the Bulldogs taking the minor premiership with a better points differential after both teams finished with 17 wins each for the season.[3]
In June the competition returned to play matches at theSydney Cricket Ground for the first time since the1987 season. Three matches were played at the venue, with the final match between St. George and Canterbury attracting an attendance of 35,641.[3]
On 16 June theGold Coast Seagulls were fined $50,000 for exceeding their 1992 salary cap by $150,000.[4]
On 22 August theCanberra Raiders defeated theParramatta Eels 68–0. This was the record for biggest winning margin where the losing team was kept scoreless for 31 years, until theNorth Queensland Cowboys defeated theWests Tigers 74–0 in 2023.[citation needed]
In August, Parramatta announced thatRon Hilditch would replace coachMick Cronin at the end of the season, whileBob McCarthy would replaceFrank Curry who stood down as Souths coach.[3]
Following the 22 regular season rounds played from March through August, Canterbury won the minor premiership, followed by St. George, Canberra, Manly and Brisbane who would go on to battle it out in the finals series.[3]
In April,City defeatedCountry 7–0 in the annualCity vs Country Origin match.[3]
In the annual State of Origin series betweenNSW andQueensland, NSW won the series 2–1.[3]
Following the Origin series, anAustralian team played three test matches againstNew Zealand. Australia won the series 2–0 after the first test in Auckland was drawn 14-all.[3]
The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous season, with 16 clubs contesting the premiership, including fiveSydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, two from greaterNew South Wales, two fromQueensland, and one from theAustralian Capital Territory.[citation needed]
For the second year running theNSWRL and its advertising agency Hertz Walpole used the 1992 re-recording of "The Best" byTina Turner andJimmy Barnes which had been released as "Simply the Best", the title by which the song was more popularly known in Australia.
No new Tina footage was available until she came to Australia at the season's end, so further shots were taken from the 1992 Tina and Jimmy black & white film clip that accompanied the song's release and used in amongst the usual previous season action and pre-season training images.
The League and Winfield enjoyed additional advertising exposure late in the season when Tina aligned an Australian leg of her 1993 tour with the NSWRL's final series. She performed on-stage at the Grand Final, presented the victor's trophy and performed the next week in a number of full-scale rock'n'roll shows with her band at theSydney Entertainment Centre.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 464 | 254 | +210 | 34 | Advance tofinals series |
| 2 |  St. George Dragons | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 418 | 258 | +160 | 34 | |
| 3 | Canberra Raiders | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 587 | 272 | +315 | 33 | |
| 4 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 442 | 232 | +210 | 32 | |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos(P) | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 517 | 330 | +187 | 32 | |
| 6 | North Sydney Bears | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 448 | 325 | +123 | 29 | |
| 7 |  Illawarra Steelers | 22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 373 | 253 | +120 | 24 | |
| 8 |  Eastern Suburbs Roosters | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 343 | 356 | −13 | 23 | |
| 9 |  Newcastle Knights | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 337 | 381 | −44 | 20 | |
| 10 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 272 | 399 | −127 | 18 | |
| 11 |  Parramatta Eels | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 237 | 439 | −202 | 18 | |
| 12 |  Penrith Panthers | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 314 | 428 | −114 | 14 | |
| 13 |  Western Suburbs Magpies | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 319 | 475 | −156 | 14 | |
| 14 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 319 | 560 | −241 | 12 | |
| 15 |  Balmain Tigers[a] | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 327 | 412 | −85 | 11 | |
| 16 |  Gold Coast Seagulls | 22 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 229 | 572 | −343 | 2 |
With one round remaining the Canberra Raiders were outright first on the ladder and favoured to participate in their 4th grand final in just 5 years. This was not to be however as a horrific leg injury sidelined Ricky Stuart for the last round of competition and the finals series. The Raiders went on to lose to Canterbury in round 22 of the competition and then to Brisbane and St George in the finals, all of which they had beat easily during the preceding season. By the end of the season there were only two points separating 1st and 5th. Week one of the finals saw St George easily account for the Canberra Raiders whilst Brisbane brushed aside Manly on their march through to week two. Canberra went into this game with their third halves combination in as many weeks and were unable to overcome the eventual premiers, succumbing to Brisbane 30–12.St. George beat Minor Premiers'Canterbury in the semi-final then had a week off to prepare for a Grand Final rematch with Brisbane who advanced through after beating Canterbury in a close and spiteful Preliminary Final.[5]
| Home | Score | Away | Match information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
| St. George Dragons | 31–10 | Canberra Raiders | 4 September 1993 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 31,429 | ||
| Manly Sea Eagles | 10–36 | Brisbane Broncos | 5 September 1993 | Sydney Football Stadium | Greg McCallum | 38,432 | ||
| Semi-finals | ||||||||
| Canberra Raiders | 12–30 | Brisbane Broncos | 11 September 1993 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 33,893 | ||
| Canterbury Bulldogs | 12–27 | St. George Dragons | 12 September 1993 | Sydney Football Stadium | Greg McCallum | 41,384 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Canterbury Bulldogs | 16–23 | Brisbane Broncos | 19 September 1993 | Sydney Football Stadium | Greg McCallum | 34,821 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| St. George Dragons | 6–14 | Brisbane Broncos | 26 September 1993 | Sydney Football Stadium | Greg McCallum | 42,329 | ||
| Qualifying final | Major Semi Final | Preliminary final | Grand Final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Canterbury | 12 | St. George | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| St. George | 27 | Brisbane | 14 | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | St. George | 31 | Canterbury | 16 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Canberra | 10 | Minor Semi Final | Brisbane | 23 | |||||||||||||
| Canberra | 12 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Manly | 10 | Brisbane | 30 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Brisbane | 36 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993 (1993) NSWRL Grand Final | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 An aerial view of theSydney Football Stadium, where the match was played | |||||||||||||
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| Date | 26 September 1993 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Sydney Football Stadium | ||||||||||||
| Location | Sydney | ||||||||||||
| Clive Churchill Medal | Brad Mackay (STG) | ||||||||||||
| Australian National anthem | Anthony Warlow | ||||||||||||
| Referee | Greg McCallum | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 42,329 | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast partners | |||||||||||||
| Broadcasters | |||||||||||||
| Commentators |
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For the second year runningBrisbane andSt George played out the decider. The Broncos had momentum coming into the Grand Final, with only one loss in their last six matches. Even though that loss was to St. George in the final regular season round, Brisbane remained underdogs.[6] In sunny conditions, a ground record crowd for the Sydney Football Stadium of 42,239 was on hand for the match.[7]
The teams for the Grand Final were largely unchanged from their meeting in the1992 Grand Final. Only one Broncos player (Peter Ryan), and four of the Dragons (Jason Stevens, Nathan Brown, Gorden Tallis and Phil Blake) had not played in the previous decider. It was alsoGlenn Lazarus' fifth consecutive Grand Final appearance, having appeared the previous year's for Brisbane and the three years' before that with theCanberra Raiders. It was alsoDavid Barnhill's fifth consecutive Grand Final appearance, having appeared the previous year for St. George and the three years' before that with the Canberra Raiders.
| St. George Dragons | Position | Brisbane Broncos | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| Mick Potter (c) | 1 | 1 | Julian O'Neill | |
| Ricky Walford | 2 | 2 | Michael Hancock | |
| Mark Coyne | 3 | 3 | Steve Renouf | |
| Graeme Bradley | 4 | 4 | Chris Johns | |
| Ian Herron | 5 | 5 | Willie Carne | |
| Tony Smith | 6 | 6 | Kevin Walters | |
| Noel Goldthorpe | 7 | 7 | Allan Langer (c) | |
| Tony Priddle | 8 | 8 | Glenn Lazarus | |
| Wayne Collins | 9 | 9 | Kerrod Walters | |
| Jason Stevens | 10 | 10 | Mark Hohn | |
| David Barnhill | 11 | 11 | Trevor Gillmeister | |
| Scott Gourley | 12 | 12 | Alan Cann | |
| Brad Mackay | 13 | 13 | Terry Matterson | |
| Nathan Brown | 22 | 14 | Andrew Gee | |
| Gorden Tallis | 24 | 15 | John Plath | |
| Phil Blake | 40 | 16 | Peter Ryan | |
| Jeff Hardy | 41 | |||
| Brian Smith | Coach | Wayne Bennett | ||
In the pre-match performance,Tina Turner performed "The Best" on stage at theSydney Football Stadium alongside her saxophonist,US session musicianTimmy Cappello.[10]
Theatre performerAnthony Warlow and then star of the Australian production ofThe Phantom of the Opera, sung theAustralian National anthem.
During the first minute of the game, St. Georgeprop forwardJason Stevens suffered a badly broken thumb and would take no further part in the match.[11] DragonswingerMark Coyne also left the field briefly due to injury, but would play on. Following aTony Priddle error, the Broncos opened the scoring in the 21st minute afterKevin Walters threw a dummy 40 metres out and sliced through the St. George line then passed back inside toChris Johns who dived over.[12]Julian O'Neill converted the try to give Brisbane a 6–0 lead.[13] About seven minutes later it was Kevin Walters again who set upTerry Matterson on his inside to cross for a soft try from close range.[14] O'Neill missed his kick so Brisbane led 10–0 with seven minutes of the first half remaining. Just before halftimeAndrew Gee gave away a penalty in the ruck and St. George decided to take the two points, meaning the score at the break was 10–2 in favour of the Broncos. Brisbane had 57% of the possession in the first half, making only four handling errors, while St. George had made eight handling errors and had made 22 more tackles than the Broncos.
St. George opened the scoring in the second half, again withIan Herron taking a shot at goal following a penalty from Andrew Gee, bringing the deficit back to a converted try at 10–4. Brisbane withstood further raids from the Dragons and when another penalty was awarded to St. George in front of the posts they again took the two points, with Herron making it three from three so the score was 10–6 in favour of the Broncos with just under 20 minutes remaining. However, these would be the last points the Dragons would score with the Broncos getting in close to St. Georges line before passing the ball out toWillie Carne on the right wing to dive over in the corner for the game's third try in the 68th minute.[15] O'Neill missed the sideline conversion attempt so the score was 14–6 with only 10 minutes of the match remaining. There were no more points before the final siren, with Brisbane's defence able to keep out St. George and force the Dragons into further errors.
After the matchTina Turner presented the trophy to Brisbane captainAllan Langer and joined in Brisbane's post-game victory song.[16]
Despite being on the losing side, Dragonslock forwardBrad Mackay was chosen by NSWRL General ManagerJohn Quayle,Don Furner and two St. George legends,John Raper andReg Gasnier to be awarded theClive Churchill Medal as man-of-the-match, with Queensland premierWayne Goss questioning the decision.[17] By retaining their title Brisbane had also become the first team in history to win a premiership from fifth spot. The match also drew remarkably strong ratings nationwide.[18]
| St. George Dragons | 6 – 14 | Brisbane Broncos |
|---|---|---|
| Goals:3 Herron  pen 40',pen 48',pen 62'(3/3) | 1st: 2–10 2nd: 4–4 [9] | Tries:3 Johns  21'Matterson 30'Carne 68'Goals:1 O'Neill 23'(1/3) |
Sydney Football Stadium,Sydney Attendance: 42,329 Referee:Greg McCallum Clive Churchill Medal:Brad Mackay[19] (St George) |
TheNorth Sydney Bears won the reserve grade Grand Final 5–4 against theNewcastle Knights. It was the Bears third-straight reserve grade premiership victory, withPeter Jackson scoring the winning field goal before half time to break a 4-all tie. There were no points scored in the second half.[20]
In the under-23sPresidents Cup Grand Final, theEastern Suburbs Roosters defeated theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks 17–4, after leading 13–0 at half time.[21]
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.
Top 5 point scorers
Top 5 try scorers
| Top 5 goal scorers
|
The regular season attendances for the 1993 season aggregated to a total of 2,625,467 at an average of 14,426 per game.
Due to a sponsorship dispute between theCastlemaine XXXX sponsoredQueensland Rugby League and the Powers Brewery sponsoredBrisbane Broncos, the defending premiers moved from the 32,500 capacityLang Park to the 59,000 capacityANZ Stadium for 1993. At the host venue of the1982 Commonwealth Games, the Broncos set a new league record average home attendance of 43,200. This was almost 27,000 more than the next best for the season set byCanterbury-Bankstown.
The highest ten regular season match attendances:[22]
| Crowd | Venue | Home team | Opponent | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58,593 | ANZ Stadium | Brisbane Broncos | St. George Dragons | Round 22 |
| 57,212 | ANZ Stadium | Brisbane Broncos |  Gold Coast Seagulls | Round 12 |
| 54,751 | ANZ Stadium | Brisbane Broncos | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Round 17 |
| 51,517 | ANZ Stadium | Brisbane Broncos | Parramatta Eels | Round 3 |
| 46,001 | ANZ Stadium | Brisbane Broncos | Canberra Raiders | Round 4 |
| 40,733 | ANZ Stadium | Brisbane Broncos | Western Suburbs Magpies | Round 10 |
| 39,193 | ANZ Stadium | Brisbane Broncos | Balmain Tigers | Round 14 |
| 35,904 | ANZ Stadium | Brisbane Broncos | Penrith Panthers | Round 6 |
| 35,641 | Sydney Cricket Ground | St. George Dragons | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Round 21 |
| 31,896 | ANZ Stadium | Brisbane Broncos | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Round 14 |
